From the author of What I Like About Me comes a hilarious feminist twist on a classic narrative, loaded with laughs, mishaps, and plenty of 80s and 90s pop-culture callbacks. Jenna Guillaume’s entertaining romantic comedy novel features a humorous and relatable voice and will appeal to fans of Jenny Han.
We had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Australian author Jenna Guillaume about her most recent release, You Were Made For Me! Jenna chats all about her YA book, the challenges she faced, writing, and so much more!
Hi, Jenna! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a major nerd with a lifelong obsession is stories — reading and watching them, and now writing them. Rom-coms are my fave genre because they just make me happy, and I think it’s important to seize joy wherever you can, but I also love complicated story universes you can get lost in. My other happy places are BTS and my dogs.
How has the first half of 2021 been for you?
Both way too slow and way too fast! The last 18 months have really messed with our perception of time, huh? I’ve been working on a novella, which has been a lot of fun and new for me. And I was so excited that YOU WERE MADE FOR ME was released! Being stuck in Australia, I can’t wait for the day I can travel again and hopefully see my books on shelves in America.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first book I remember reading is Animalia by Graeme Base, an Australian author and illustrator — I was very young, and would make up my own stories based on the illustrations. A book that made me want to become an author was Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, another iconic Australian author. I reread the book constantly as a teen — it was like a best friend — and I was drawn to YA as a writer because I remember that feeling so well, and wanted to give even a small part of it to others. One book I can’t stop thinking about is Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker — I devoured it recently, it’s a time-travelling mash-up of Romeo & Juliet and Wuthering Heights that is so amazingly written. The way everything falls into place blew my mind.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I remember being about six or seven and enjoying making up stories, and having teachers compliment my writing — I thrive on praise so I think that made me love it even more!
Your latest novel, You Were Made For Me, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Weird, fun, tropey, comforting, creative.
What can readers expect?
It’s about two girls who accidentally create the perfect guy — a bizarre concept, but grounded in a contemporary reality. It has some very silly and fun moments, and also explores friendship, desire, perfectionism, grief, and what a healthy relationship actually looks like.
What was the inspiration behind You Were Made For Me?
I was partly inspired by the ‘80s movie Weird Science, in which two boys create the perfect woman. It’s kind of gross and misogynistic in hindsight, so I wanted to flip it and explore what would happen if two girls were in a situation where they create a boy. I really wanted to unpack the full spectrum of female desire, while also giving the created boy agency and an arc that the woman in the original movie never gets.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
You Were Made For Me was challenging in that it was my second book — yes, second book syndrome is very real! It’s such a different experience from writing your first book. With What I like About Me, I had years and no external expectations while writing it — it was just me and the book. For You Were Made For Me, I had a deadline and an agent and editors — not to mention readers — waiting for it. It was a lot of pressure, but also lovely to know that it would be published.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Guy, the boy Katie and Libby create, was absolutely the most fun to write. I love himbos and it was great to play with that part of him. I also adored writing the banter between Katie and Libby — their friendship is very special to me.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
Worst: write every day. I think it sets up unrealistic expectations and an “all or nothing” approach. You write when you can!
Best: done is better than perfect. Like Katie in You Were Made For Me, my perfectionism can be quite brutal and stop me from actually making progress in my creative projects. I need to put that aside and just get things DONE.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on another YA rom-com as well as co-writing an adult romance and also learning screenwriting. Nothing is concrete yet but I’m excited and hopefully have more to share in the not-too-distant future!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Shivaun Plozza’s The Boy, The Wolf, And the Stars is one of my fave recent reads.
